Memorial Day in LA: Observances, services, ceremonies and events

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Areas in and around Los Angeles will observe Memorial Day with services, ceremonies, parades and other events throughout the weekend.

The national holiday is observed on the last Monday in May to commemorate those who died in military service. Thousands of American flags will be placed at grave sites across the country, and at 3 p.m. local time, there will be a national moment of remembrance.

MLB Clubs will wear specially designed caps and jerseys featuring an authentic military digital camouflage design licensed from the United States Marine Corps on Monday, May 27 in honor of Memorial Day.

MLB will also conduct a moment of silence prior to all games throughout Memorial Day weekend to honor members of the military who lost their lives serving their country. On Memorial Day itself, MLB will join the National Moment of Remembrance, an initiative the league has participated in since 1997, where all games will stop for a moment of silence at 3:00 p.m. local time.

Los Angeles National Cemetery in Westwood is just one of the local VA National Cemeteries hosting events on Memorial Day. Some locations will keep extended hours.

NCA writes on its website to "come out to honor the service and sacrifice of our nation's fallen heroes." U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki issued an official news release on Friday:

This weekend, Americans in large numbers will visit our national cemeteries and other final resting places to honor their loved ones, their friends, neighbors, colleagues, even some unknown to them—men and women who gave their lives in defense of our Nation. Memorial Day is a time to reflect on their service and their sacrifice, even as our Armed Forces are performing difficult and dangerous missions in distant lands. They continue to safeguard our American way of life.

At noon on Saturday, May 25, a memorial service will be held at Riverside’s oldest cemetery...Veterans from the Civil War on will be honored. The cemetery holds 177 Civil War veterans.

Dressed in period uniforms, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Gen. Stoneman Camp 18, will officiate at the service, which will include a wreath presentation, bagpipe music, a musket salute and dispersal of flowers to veterans’ graves.

The Long Beach-located ocean-liner that once served as WWII troop transport (and key recurring "Arrested Development" location) will waive admission for members of the military, and for veterans, from Saturday through Monday. Forty percent off admission for immediate family.

It's hard to believe that this World War II battleship left its Richmond home for San Pedro on May 26 of 2012. Remember the photos of it going under the Golden Gate Bridge? It's set to spend this Memorial Day honoring the military and those who have served. A full day of "food, fun, games and entertainment" is planned, and active military and veterans get in free (just have that ID handy).

On Monday, May 27, the museum will hold its "Annual Memorial Day Flower Drop."

A brief Memorial service dedicated to all who paid the ultimate price for our freedom is highlighted by a B-25 Mitchell bomber fly-by that drops 3,000 red and white carnations on our tarmac. Family and air activities are scheduled all day long; Memorial Program and Flower Drop scheduled for 1:00 PM

Observe Memorial Day with services held at a WWII submarine. The event is free and open to the public.

The United States National Submarine Memorial West, located at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, will be the site of annual public Memorial Day services Monday, May 27.

The 11:00 am observance will include the unique "tolling the boats" ceremony, during which the name of each of the 52 U.S. submarines lost during World War Two is read aloud, along with the fate of each crew, as a bell is tolled.

The city’s annual Memorial Day tribute to the men and women who have sacrificed their lives while serving in the United States Armed Forces happens Monday, May 27 at 11:00 at Del Valle Park.

The ceremony includes the laying of wreaths at the Veterans Memorial and remarks from Lakewood Mayor Steve Croft and other dignitaries.

This year is the 21st anniversary of the placement at the memorial of the poem, “The Boys of Del Valle Park,” authored by Lakewood resident Dennis Lander. The stirring, Lakewood-influenced poem will once again be read as part of the ceremony.

"Memorial Day in Canoga Park" returns Monday, May 27, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. The theme of this year's event is "Saluting the Price of Freedom." Note: There have been some changes to the route.

The 5K Run/Walk will begin at the corner of Sherman Way and Desoto...the Parade will begin at the Corner of Sherman Way and Owensmouth and travel east to Mason on Sherman Way ending at the Frist Baptist Church where this year we will be hosting a car show. This year community judges will be on hand to give out cash prizes for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, place winners for floats, autos, and marching units.

We continue to honor our fallen soldiers with a special Memorial Day weekend event that draws over 15,000 visitors to the park. We are privileged to host California’s largest Memorial Day service, conducted annually at 10 AM.